Empire has been underwater for the past few hundred years. When the flooding started, leaders were chosen and a factory was started and named ONE, with the idea that the tools and clothes made there would last a lifetime to save resources and keep the city alive. When it came time for those with power to step down, they refused. And when the people tried to take back their rights, the leaders took away their food and water. No one remembers that first conflict hundreds of years later, but Sam feels how people felt back then. Angry and helpless to do anything more than keep his family from starving. At first, he believes that the only solution is rebellion, but when it begins he starts to wonder if a fight for more is worth its cost.